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Devils Sign Lenni Hameenaho To Entry-Level Contract

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1:30 PM: The Devils have made this signing official. Hameenaho has inked his entry-level deal and will join the Devils’ North American ranks next season.

11:30 AM: The New Jersey Devils could receive a boost from Finland next season, as general manager Tom Fitzgerald shares that centerman Lenni Hameenaho is expected to move to North America, per Devils’ team reporter Amanda Stein. Fitzgerald told reporters that the team will announce Hameenaho’s move soon. Many believe that announcement will be coupled with news that Hameenaho has signed his entry-level contract, shares James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now.

New Jersey drafted Hameenaho midway through the 2023 second-round, on the heels of his rookie season in Finland’s Liiga. He scored 21 points in 51 games as a Liiga rookie, and added four points in eight postseason games. It was a modest showing, in line with many other first or second round draft picks in their rookie seasons. But Hameenaho showed he simply needed to find his footing at a pro flight, and he broke out with 31 points in 46 games as a league sophomore. That scoring was coupled with six points in seven World Junior Championship games – where Hameenaho proved his distinct ability to drive downhill and create space in all three zones. He continued to build on those strong traits with a top-line role in the Liiga this season, and finished the year with a dazzling 20 goals and 51 points in 58 games – good for second on Assat in scoring.

Hameenaho seemed like a strong prospect just months after his draft selection. Two years later, his 2024-25 scoring is the second-most the Liiga has seen from a 20-year-old since 2000, behind top Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Ville Koivunen. Hameenaho is sturdy centerman who’s strong on the puck and diligently responsible in all three zones. He’ll be a strong addition to New Jersey’s minor league ranks, and could even find his way into the NHL lineup throughout next season.

Devils’ Jesper Bratt Undergoes Surgery To Address Multi-Season Injury

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The New Jersey Devils lineup is undergoing a wave of tune ups, check ups, and surgeries to get back to full health after the end of their postseason run. For star winger Jesper Bratt, the wave of medical attention has marked a chance to address a shoulder injury that’s plagued him for the last few seasons. General manager Tom Fitzgerald shared with reporters that Bratt has undergone successful shoulder surgery and is expected to return before training camp, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Fitzgerald adds that Bratt chose to get surgery now to help ensure he’s ready for next season and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The extent of Bratt’s injury, or the pain it caused, isn’t quite clear – but his play on the ice hardly warranted the thought. Bratt has developed into a full superstar for the Devils organization and managed career-highs in scoring in each of the last three seasons. His breakout season came in the 2021-22 campaign, when the top left-winger totaled 26 goals, 47 assists, and 73 points in 76 games. That performance made him just the 30th Devils player to reach 40 assists since 2000 at the time.

Not to be outdone, Bratt matched his 73-point high in 2022-23 – but managed it with 32 goals and 41 assists while playing in all 82 games of the season. That year kicked off a string of unwavering appearances that carried through this season, and Bratt only grew with the nightly appearances. He tallied 27 goals, 56 assists, and 83 points last season; then lapped that total with 21 goals, 67 assists, and 88 points this year. His 67 assists this year mark a franchise record, taking the title from Scott Stevens who recorded 60 points in 1993-94.

It is on the heels of that record-breaking performance that Bratt will take the time to reach full health. He has four years remaining on an eight-year, $63MM contract signed after his repeat 73-point campaign in 2023. With the news that Bratt is expected to reach full health before the season starts, all focus will be on how he can continue to grow on top of a Devils lineup that’s dedicated to change this summer. Bratt’s involvement in the 2026 Olympics will be worth monitoring closely as well. He hasn’t yet joined Team Sweden at the Olympics, though he did appear with the Men’s Team at the 2019 World Championship and 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. Bratt scored four points in nine combined games between the two events.

Devils’ Johnathan Kovacevic Undergoes Knee Surgery

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5/8: Kovacevic has undergone successful knee surgery, per Devils’ team reporter Amanda Stein. General manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed to Stein that Kovacevic is not expected to be ready for the 2025-26 training camp.

5/1: In the wake of their elimination from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, many New Jersey Devils are beginning to reveal the injuries they were playing through. For defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, that’s a serious knee injury that will require surgery this summer. Kovacevic shared with media that he doesn’t expect to be ready for the start of next season’s training camp, per NHL.com’s Mike Morreale.

Kovacevic sustained his knee injury on the first shift of Game 3. He played through the remainder of the first period before being pulled by team doctors during intermission. With the season now over, Kovacevic shared he is still in the process of sorting things out and will likely remain in New Jersey through much of May. That should allow him to continue consulting with team doctors as he maps out this new injury.

Kovacevic was otherwise a pillar of good health this season. He appeared in all but one of New Jersey’s 82 games this season – with his only absence coming in New Jersey’s final game of the season. He recorded 17 points, 72 penalty minutes, and a plus-10 in the full season effort – career-highs in the former two stats, and one plus shy of tying his high in the latter. It was a statement year after Kovacevic was a healthy scratch in 20 games for the Montreal Canadiens last season. On a young Canadiens blue-line, the defensive-minded Kovacevic fell as the odd-man-out – prompting a trade to the Devils on June 30th. He moved to New Jersey seemingly set on the role of seventh-defenseman, behind either Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey. But his strong defensive play , and up-and-down play from the top prospects, quickly pushed the veteran Kovacevic into an everyday role.

The Devils affirmed Kovacevic’s role in the lineup by signing him to a five-year, $20MM contract extension on March 7th. It’s the longest deal of the 27-year-old’s pro career, after his first seven pro seasons were spent on a pair of three-year deals, and a standalone one-year contract. All three were two-way contracts. For the first time in his career, Kovacevic can stand tall knowing he has a spot in the NHL awaiting him next season. That assuredness, and a vague path forward after this injury, will likely keep Kovacevic from rushing back too quick – even if it means cutting into his pre-season availability next season.

Devils Sign Arseni Gritsyuk To Entry-Level Deal

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May 6: The team confirmed a one-year deal for Gritsyuk today. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

April 9: The Devils are expected to land 2019 fifth-round pick Arseni Gritsyuk out of Russia on an entry-level deal for the 2025-26 season, Daria Tuboltseva of Responsible Gambler reports. The 24-year-old winger remains under contract with Kontinental Hockey League club SKA St. Petersburg through May 31, so an official announcement could still be weeks away.

While closer in theory to a free-agent pickup than a prospect arrival, he’s still on the right side of 25 and tracks as an impactful addition to the New Jersey roster next year. The 6’0″, 194-lb right winger has quite the resume in his home country. He had a breakout year with Avangard Omsk in 2021-22, winning the KHL’s Rookie of the Year Award with 16-12–28 in just 39 games. That was enough for him to be included on the country’s roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he posted three points in six games en route to a silver medal.

Gritsyuk transferred to SKA in the 2023 off-season and has spent the last two seasons there. He saved his best for last. If not for an injury that sidelined him for about a third of the year, he would have led St. Petersburg in scoring. He did lead the team with a +22 rating and recorded 17-27–44 in 49 games. His 0.90 points per game ranked 12th in the KHL among qualified skaters. Gritsyuk also added five points in six playoff games as SKA dropped their first-round series to Dynamo Moscow.

His pending departure adds to a mass exodus from one of Russia’s largest clubs. Their leading scorer, 19-year-old Ivan Demidov, has already terminated his contract and is on his way to Montreal to join the Canadiens for the remainder of the season. They’ve also mutually terminated their deal with ex-Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov and are widely expected to lose top defenseman and captain Alexander Nikishin to the Hurricanes, who drafted him 69th overall in 2020 – although whether that deal gets done in time for him to join Carolina this season remains to be seen.

As for New Jersey, they’re likely penciling Gritsyuk into a top-nine right-wing spot for opening night in October. It’s realistic to expect output in the 40-to-50-point range from the smooth-skating winger next season, potentially even higher if he’s given first-unit power play deployment. He should be a crucial cost-effective contributor for the Devils as they enter the 2025 offseason with under $14MM in cap space for next season and star defenseman Luke Hughes in need of a new deal.

Gritsyuk will pause his KHL career after recording 68-84–152 in 216 regular-season games over the past five seasons. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer and the Devils maintain team control over his signing rights through 2028.

Devils’ Jesper Bratt, Luke Hughes Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Devils winger Jesper Bratt has opted to undergo offseason shoulder surgery and will miss the World Championship, the team announced. Star defenseman Luke Hughes also recently underwent surgery to repair the shoulder injury he sustained in Game 1 of the first round against the Hurricanes. New Jersey expects both to be ready for training camp in the fall.

It’s unknown whether Bratt suffered his injury on a specific play or if he’s got wear-and-tear issues he wanted to correct. He didn’t miss a game all season aside from sitting out New Jersey’s final regular-season contest for rest.

If Bratt was playing hurt for a while, it certainly didn’t show. The 26-year-old led the Devils with a career-high 67 assists and 88 points in the regular season before adding a goal and two assists in five games in New Jersey’s first-round loss.

Entering the third season of his eight-year, $63MM contract, Bratt has topped the 70-point mark in four consecutive seasons and has been remarkably durable. That final regular-season game was the first one Bratt missed since the 2021-22 season. Assuming he hits the ground running as expected in 2025-26, he’s got a chance at becoming the first Devil with three straight 80-point seasons in franchise history.

Hughes’ injury was far more apparent. He re-injured his left shoulder in a collision with Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi and didn’t play the final four games of the series. He suffered an injury to the same shoulder last offseason but opted not to have surgery to accelerate his recovery timeline and diminish the amount of time he missed at the beginning of 2024-25. Now, with a full summer ahead of him, he goes for more serious intervention.

In need of a new deal this summer as a pending restricted free agent, Hughes has 93 points and a -34 rating through his first 155 NHL games since being drafted fourth overall in 2021. He’s led Devils defenders in scoring each of the past two years and is likely in line for an extension well north of $8MM per season if New Jersey opts to hammer out a long-term deal.

Image courtesy of John Jones-Imagn Images.

Bastian Hopes To Re-Sign

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  • Speaking with reporters today (video link), Devils winger Nathan Bastian addressed his upcoming free agency. Eligible to test the open market for the first time, the 27-year-old indicated that his preference is to remain with New Jersey.  However, coming off a down year that saw him record just 10 points in 59 games, he might have to take a small dip in pay from his $1.35MM current deal to do so.  The team only has around $12MM in cap room for next season per PuckPedia with defenseman Luke Hughes likely to take a big chunk of that.  Accordingly, the Devils may need to keep their final few roster spots closer to the minimum salary and with Bastian logging under 11 minutes a night for the last two years, he likely falls in that category.

Devils Notes: Markström, Pesce, Lazar, Palát

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Despite a five-game loss to the Hurricanes in the first round, Jacob Markström backstopped his Devils with one of the best goaltending performances of the postseason. He posted a .911 SV% and 2.78 GAA behind an injury-plagued New Jersey defense, including a spectacular 49-save performance in Game 5’s double-overtime loss. Through five games, Markström’s 5.7 goals saved above expected lead the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.

On the heels of that strong showing in his first year in New Jersey, Markström enters next season as a pending unrestricted free agent and becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1. That’s something he has a strong interest in doing. “If [general manager Tom Fitzgerald] is calling, I’m answering,” the netminder told reporters today during end-of-season media availability (per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now).

Markström is entering the final season of the six-year, $36MM contract he signed with the Flames in free agency in 2020. The Devils are only on the hook for $4.125MM of his $6MM cap hit, though, as Calgary retained 31.25% of his deal when they traded him to New Jersey last offseason. He had a somewhat pedestrian regular season, logging a .900 SV%, 2.50 GAA, and 3.4 GSAx in 49 starts, but the one-time All-Star was still a marked improvement over the goaltending that arguably tanked the Devils’ 2023-24 campaign.

He’ll be 36 next summer, so a long-term deal certainly isn’t in the cards. Injuries remain somewhat of a concern, especially given his age – he’s now missed at least 10 games in back-to-back years. His age also means the Devils can give him performance bonuses on a one-year extension to keep his initial cap hit down. If he wants a multi-year commitment, though, he’s ineligible for performance bonuses.

Here’s more on the Devils:

  • New Jersey lost defensemen Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes in Game 1 for the rest of the series, and they weren’t the only rearguards hurt in that contest. Brett Pesce told reporters today he sustained a shoulder injury in the opening game of the postseason but played through it, per the club’s Amanda Stein. It’s unclear whether he’ll require offseason surgery. Pesce has a history of shoulder issues, missing the tail end of the 2017-18 season before eventually undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in February 2020. Pesce struggled to the tune of 17 points and a minus-five rating in 72 games for the Devils this year after signing a six-year, $33MM deal in free agency last summer.
  • Center Curtis Lazar’s knee injury never fully healed after making an earlier-than-expected return to the lineup in December, he told Nichols. He underwent surgery on Oct. 27 but was back in the lineup less than two months later, although he did miss a few games later in the season. The pending unrestricted free agent expressed a desire to be back in Newark next year. While he recorded just five points in 48 contests in 2024-25, he’s one year removed from a career-high 25 points and a +10 rating in 71 games. A healthy Lazar can be an effective bottom-six talent, especially if he returns on a deal similar to his current $1MM cap hit.
  • Winger Ondřej Palát will not be representing his native Czechia at this year’s World Championship, per Stein. The 34-year-old managed only 28 points in 75 games this year, a career-low in a full season, and had two assists in five postseason contests. He was an alternate captain for Czechia at the Worlds last year, scoring 3-3–6 in 10 games en route to a gold medal. Being named to Czechia’s roster for the Winter Olympics next year would give him a shot at joining Jaromír Jágr and Jiří Šlégr as Czech members of the Triple Gold Club.

Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen Out For Game 5

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10:33 a.m.: Andersen is confirmed as out tonight but hasn’t been ruled out for the series if New Jersey manages to extend it, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said (via Ruff).

9:49 a.m.: The Hurricanes are unlikely to have starting goaltender Frederik Andersen available for Game 5 of their first-round series against the Devils tonight, per the team’s Walt Ruff. He isn’t practicing today after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Game 4, and Pyotr Kochetkov is in the starter’s crease in his place. The team announced they recalled netminder Spencer Martin from AHL Chicago to serve as Kochetkov’s backup tonight.

Andersen was injured when he collided with Devils forward Timo Meier midway through the second period of Sunday’s Game 4 win to take a 3-1 series lead. Andersen had been spectacular through the first three and a half games of the series, posting a .936 SV% and league-leading 1.59 GAA, including a 34-save performance in Game 3’s double-overtime loss.

Kochetkov, who started the majority of Carolina’s regular-season games with Andersen missing time due to knee surgery, allowed one goal on 15 shots in relief for a .933 SV%. He posted a .897 SV% and 2.60 GAA with a career-high 27 wins in 47 regular-season starts. The 25-year-old has made seven playoff appearances over the last four years, but mostly in relief. Tonight will be his third career playoff start. He’s struggled when called upon in the playoffs thus far in his career, logging a .870 SV% and 3.73 GAA.

Of course, Andersen got them far enough to need just one more win to knock out the Devils and secure a playoff series win for the fifth straight year. Until their current streak, the Hurricanes/Whalers franchise had never recorded a series win in consecutive campaigns.

The team is still waiting to finish Andersen’s evaluation to determine when he’ll be ready to rejoin the lineup. If it’s another long-term injury, he may have played his last game in Carolina. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent after signing a two-year, $6.8MM deal to extend his stay in Raleigh-Durham in 2023.

As for Martin, Carolina’s veteran No. 3 option recorded a 3-4-1 record, .846 SV%, 3.89 GAA, and one shutout in seven starts and two relief appearances earlier this season while Andersen was on the shelf. The brother-in-law of Panthers winger Jonah Gadjovich was quite good in the minors this year, posting a .909 SV% and three shutouts in 31 regular-season contests for the Wolves with a 20-8-2 record.

Devils’ Santeri Hatakka Signs Two-Year Deal In Sweden

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Devils pending restricted free agent defenseman Santeri Hatakka has signed a two-year contract with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, per a club announcement. It’s unclear if the deal carries an NHL out clause. New Jersey can retain his exclusive signing rights through 2028 if they decide to issue him a qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline.

Hatakka’s move overseas comes after an injury-plagued 2024-25 campaign. The 24-year-old Finn was expected to compete for an opening night roster spot after posting strong defensive results in limited minutes last season, but he sustained a shoulder injury during training camp that required surgery. He wasn’t cleared to return until February, upon which he cleared waivers and finished the season with AHL Utica. The 6’1″ lefty posted a goal, an assist, 20 PIMs, and a plus-one rating in 19 minor-league appearances to end the campaign.

A sixth-round pick by the Sharks back in 2019, San Jose traded Hatakka to New Jersey in the 2023 Timo Meier deal. While he’s flashed upside as a reliable stay-at-home defensive presence, injuries have been a constant. He was limited to just eight AHL games in 2022-23.

In his Devils debut last season, Hatakka recorded two assists and a plus-five rating in 12 appearances while averaging 14:39 per game. He posted a 49.8 CF% at even strength, 1.9% better than the Devils’ shot attempt share without him on the ice, and was widely expected to spend most of this season as a reliable press-box or call-up option. Given he didn’t receive that opportunity and he wasn’t even part of New Jersey’s Black Ace callups last week, it’s clear neither side envisions much of an immediate future for Hatakka in New Jersey.

Attention now shifts toward whether the Devils will want to keep him on their reserve list with a qualifying offer. If they do so, Hatakka would have to sign with the Devils or have his signing rights traded if he wants to return to the NHL when his contract with HV71 expires in 2027. He joins a club whose 2025-26 roster also includes former Senator Olle Alsing, ex-Maple Leaf Andreas Borgman, and former Lightning depth piece Sean Day on the back end.

Luke Hughes, Brenden Dillon And Johnathan Kovacevic Remain Out

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  • Missing key blueliners Luke Hughes, Brenden Dillon, and Johnathan Kovacevic, the Devils struggled badly in their game four loss to the Hurricanes—and with all three expected to remain out for game five, their defensive woes are likely to continue. Per team reporter Amanda Stein, all three will miss game five, which will likely require veterans Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Brian Dumoulin to continue to play extended minutes, Dennis Cholowski to continue to play his first career playoff games, and force higher than anticipated ice time for Jonas Siegenthaler, who just returned from an injury himself. from his own injury. With three starters missing from their blueline, the Devils are trying to replace nearly 60 minutes of combined ice time, as well as 77 combined regular season points, 267 combined blocked shots, and more than 300 combined hits. Carolina currently leads the series 3-1.

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